The Blood Countess
by MariskaMania
Summary: With a female serial killer on the loose and a body count that keeps rising Olivia and her partner fight to find their killer. The return of Elliot Stabler throws a spanner into Olivia's emotional self as she battles her killer, her emotions and desires. Alex and Elliot both fight for Olivia's love, but who will get it?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Please note before reading this fanfic that some chapters and content contains vilence, and a sexual nature. SVU does not belong to me, none of the characters belong to me either, they all belong to Dick Wolf! However, the non canon characters, and this story does belong to me! Now the disclaimer is out of the way, I know I have a few fics on the go, but this is a story I have been working on for sometime and am now ready to share it with you. I hope you enjoy this chapter and if you have time, please review. Please also note, I am not sure if this is going to be an E/O or A/O story yet, so please feel free to let me know what you think and what you would like. **

* * *

Nothing about the day was normal. Nothing seemed to fit in anywhere and nothing seemed to make sense. The wind was howling outside making it hard to concentrate, the fact I had nothing to go on, that made it harder to concentrate. Every possible lead, led us to a dead end. This case was seemingly, unsolvable. I had bodies in apartments, blood baths and bodies at dump sites all over New York. On top of that, I was hungry and in need of caffeine. I looked at my watch, it was almost two in the morning, the Captain had gone home, I was the only one left in the precinct, that's if you're not counting the graveyard detectives, which I wasn't. I felt my eyes getting heavier and knew if I stayed any longer, my brain would shut down all together, and I didn't fancy spending another uncomfortable night in the crib surrounded by come and go detectives who came in to grab an hour. I needed my bed, so with that, I shut off my computer, picked up my jacket, grabbed my keys and headed home to my apartment.

It was empty as usual, cold and dark. I hated being here alone, lately I'd started to resent a lot of things about my life. I resented the fact Elliot had been gone four years tomorrow, I resented the fact I couldn't get him off my mind. I resented the fact that a couple of decent men had asked me out and I stupidly said no holding on to this fantasy Elliot was coming back and more so I resented the fact I couldn't catch this damn woman calling herself the Blood Countess. I grabbed a beer from the fridge, and even though I'd promised myself a good nights sleep, I needed to read. The book I'd ordered had finally arrived. It was called the Blood Countess, from what I'd read online, we had a copy cat killer, the thing is, our copy cat was four centuries late. The only thing I knew about this woman was that she liked young girls, she bathed in their blood and found it arousing. Personally, I found and still do find it disgusting. I guess that's why I'm not the deluded Countess. I read the first few pages and instantly saw similarities between my case and the one I was reading. The woman, although married engaged in sexual activity with women, and by women of their time, meant teenagers because people didn't tend to live long lives back then. The woman in my book bathed in her victim's blood, and it was speculated that she drank it to give herself the purity from it. Then I read something that struck me, the woman only killed virgins! I'd need to make a call to Warner, but I was pretty sure most of our victims were virgins, and the only reason we couldn't tell either way, was because they were mutilated. Whoever our Blood Countess is, had definitely read or studied this woman. We weren't looking at a serial killer who was dangerously unpredictable, we were looking at a copy cat, and with this book, I now knew her next move!

* * *

"Are you okay?" a friendly voice asked the young girl crying, she was sat against a brick wall, knees up to her chest, head resting on her folded arms.

The girl looked up, her eyes were red and itchy from the tears; "I lost my mom." she confessed.

It was late and the woman smiled, "When did you lose her?"

"We went to the park a few blocks away," the child sniffed, "My dog Jingles ran after a squirrel and she chased him. I got scared on my own and thought I could walk home, but I got lost and now I'm alone."

"How old are you sweetie?" the woman asked again. It was two A.M and kids this young out on their own was very unusal.

"Ten. Can you help me find my mommy?"

"Sure I can, what's your name?"

"Liza, what's yours?" the ten year old stood up and looked at the woman in front of her.

"My name is Enid, I'll tell you what, why don't we go back to my house, I'll make you a hot cocoa and you can use my phone to call your mom."

Liza looked sceptical, she was always told not to talk to strangers, let alone trust them, but she was desperate, scared and wanted her mom back. Liza took hold of Enid's out stretched hand and got in her car, it only took ten minutes for them to arrive at an apartment that didn't look very homely at all. It was a single apartment in a three story building, but it was empty, and Enid knew it. "I don't like it here." Liza confessed.

"It's okay, once we get inside we can shut out the world. I know it looks scary on the outside." Enid ushered the young girl into the grey apartment. The walls were brown, as were the curtains and the carpet. Enid pushed the key in the lock, opened the door then with an almighty shove, pushed Liza in to the apartment. She landed with a thud, fear coursed through the young girl's body and sat firmly in her eyes.

"Please let me go." the girl begged, but Enid had other ideas.

"That's right little Liza, beg for your life." she mocked as she took a fist full of Liza's hair dragging her to her feet. "Tell me I'm beautiful!" she demanded.

Liza began crying, the pain in her head searing. "Please." she sobbed as tears blurred her vision.

"I _said_, tell me I'm beautiful." Enid pushed the girl back my her hair, as she fell she hit her head.

"I want my mommy, I want to go home, please..." Liza pleaded again.

Enid smiled, "Did your mommy ever tell you not to talk to strangers?" Liza nodded whilst rubbing her head. "She did, that's good of her. You're a very bad girl for not listening to her, she would be _very_ disappointed in you, wouldn't she?!" Enid said smiling finding a seat with a view of the girl. "Come here."

Liza did as she was told, she stood inches away from Enid; "Please let me go, I won't tell anyone, I promise!"

Enid smiled, "I know you won't, because I'm going to kill you."

Liza ran for the door screaming, more tears filled her eyes then fell down her face. "Please! Somebody help me! PLEASE!" she screamed.

Enid smiled and opened a bag, Liza turned to see what the woman was doing. "Liza, come here." The girl didn't move, she tried unlocking the multiple locks on the door, but she couldn't reach the three at the top. She felt the pain in her head again as her captor pulled her by the hair. Bending her over the table she put all of her weight on the ten year old. "You're so young, and pure. Nothing has touched you yet, and nothing ever will. Not after me." Liza struggled, she felt her arm being pulled behind her and bent upwards causing her arm to flare with pain. She let out a scream but the woman didn't stop until a cracking filled the air. With a sick smile Enid pulled Liza back throwing her into the chair she had once sat in herself. She taped Liza's hands to the arms of the chairs, then her feet to the legs on the chair.

"I want my mommy, please." Liza looked at her arm and sobbed choking on her tears.

"It's broken." Enid said bluntly. "I like the sound it makes, reminds me of untouched snow when you first walk on it." Enid grabbed Liza's face, the girl struggled but it only made her more of a challenge for the woman, she forced her lips on the ten year olds, forcing her into a kiss. Liza bit down hard drawing blood from the woman's lip. In spite and anger, Enid slapped Liza's small cheek as hard as she could sending her and the chair flying. Liza let out a piercing scream as she landed on her broken arm. "I am the first to draw blood you little bitch!"

"I'm sorry, please don't hurt me, please."

Enid kicked Liza in stomach and watched as she squirmed. "Now we're going to play for a little while longer!" Enid stamped down hard with her foot on the small right hand of Liza breaking every bone. The girls screamed as pain ripped through her tiny being. Picking the girl up by her hair again, Enid dragged her to the bathroom where she pulled the tape from the girl's hands and feet. Enid grabbed at Liza's crotch pinching hard, she forced her lips on Liza's again to cancel out her screams. Enid was excited, she was happy, but more than anything, she was aroused.

* * *

It was late and Enid hadn't finished yet. She hadn't planned her second victim, but her first, she was planned. Enid opened the closet door in her apartment, her earlier masterpiece was still out cold laying there. Sleeping beauty, in a closet. Enid smiled as she dragged the body through the apartment. The police had it all wrong, she didn't go out hunting for her apartment girl first, it was the other way around. She liked to play with the dump girls more; she spent more time picking them and made sure they were perfect. She'd play with them all day, then keep them knocked out, out of the way somewhere in her apartment before picking up her second girl, the one that stayed in the apartment. She was proud of her dump girls, she wanted the world to see them in ever lasting mortality. Enid got to the bathroom and hung her dump girl's head over the bath tub, then with as much normality as pouring herself a glass of water, she stabbed her in the throat letting the blood pour from her carotid, the pain shocking her awake. She tried to scream, but couldn't. Her throat was about as useful right now as a straw with a hole in it. The captor then went over to Liza who was also unconscious, happy her work was done, she stabbed the same blade into the girl's carotid and let her bleed out into the tub. She then removed her clothes and sank into the warm, thick blood bath.


	2. Chapter 2

As I walked into the one bedroom apartment, I was disgusted at the sight I saw. A young girl who looked only nine or ten lay naked on the floor. She had stab wounds to her neck, arms and thighs just like the other victims. Her mouth was split almost to each ear, and her fingers had been removed. Before anyone said anything to me I headed towards the bathroom, when I opened the door I saw the signature that confirmed this was the work of the Blood Countess. The bath tub was filled with blood, foot prints were leading out of it until the countess had gotten herself dressed again. I put on my latex gloves and dipped my fingers in the tub, the blood was still warm; we'd missed her again.

"That's too much blood for one body." Melissa Fletcher, the chief of CSU told me.

I nodded, "The second victim is always dumped somewhere else."

"We haven't got an ID, just like the others she's a Jane Doe for now. She's much younger than the others." Melissa paused and looked at me, "That's seven girls now, and eight if there's a body dump. Olivia, we will find her, won't we?"

I looked at Melissa, a mother of two young girls herself; "We have to." I said softly, I wasn't one hundred percent sure myself yet, the Countess seemed to be two steps ahead of us all the time, I know I had doubts, so did everyone at this point. The city was running scared and the Mayor had put out a press conference telling parents to keep their daughters safe, only right now, it didn't seem to be working. "You're the best Melissa, if anyone can help nail this perp, it's you!" I gave a small smile and walked out of the bathroom.

"This doesn't look good." Ava Mayfair, my partner of nine months told me.

"Murder never looks good." I replied, "What did Callie have to say?" I asked.

Ava had been talking to Callie Rosa, another member of the CSU team; "Not a lot, the same as the other scenes, everything is in it's place apart from the body, no prints, no fibres, no nothing."

I sighed softly, I was now running on empty. I hung around the scene until Melinda Warner arrived, she arrived, took one look at the body and knew instantly who was responsible. "The Countess?" she half asked.

"That's my guess." I said softly.

"In all my years of being an M.E, I've never been more desperate for a case to close. I don't know how many more young girls I can take on my table." Melinda looked at the young girl's body and sighed softly. "She's been tortured, and there does seem to be fluids around her crotch. I'll let you know as soon as I have anything."

"Thanks." I said moving the hair from my face.

"Looks like you could go home and sleep." she smiled.

I smiled back, "Sleep... What's that?"

"I won't know anything until the morning, I'm still working on Alfie Roman's body. I'll do the autopsy in the morning."

"Call me as soon as you've done it." I looked at Ava and gave her a small wave, she caught up to me .

"I am so ready for this case to be over with." she looked as tired as I felt.

"You're not alone." we walked down to my car parked outside the apartment building, "You need a lift?" I asked.

"No I'm good. I don't live too far from here, I'll walk it." Ava smiled and before I had the chance to insist on giving her a ride home, she was walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

I turned up at the crime scene feeling more tired than usual. I had just finished a fifteen hour shift, then slept for three hours before Cragen called me. I was starving and in desperate need of a coffee, I gave my details to the uniformed officer and made my way down the dusky alley. I was alone, my new partner Ava Mayfair was on her way, I guessed she'd been as tired as me because it took her three phone calls to pick up the phone. I looked at the body, the young girl was about seventeen, eighteen at the most with blonde hair and green eyes. She'd been stabbed, she had all the same markings as the young girl only hours ago, but much more severe.

"Sorry I'm late Olivia," Ava said softly, "Oh God, she's so young."

I looked at Ava, "I know." I agreed. I looked at Warner who slumped down the alley, she looked as tired as I felt.

"Hi Olivia." she greeted me.

"Hi Melinda." I said back, I watched as she looked at the body and searched it for ID.

"No ID, first look I can tell you this isn't your primary crime scene. She was moved here, she's in rigger, she's been dead about five hours." Melinda looked at me and sighed softly. "Such a waste of life, she looks like she's been drained of blood."

"Do you think this could be ritualistic?" I asked, I had to ask even though I knew it was.

"It's possible, there are so many rituals out there and a lot of them involve blood and human sacrifice." she informed me, I looked at her and nodded as I made a mental note of what she had said.

"Thanks, call me when you've done the autopsy." I smiled a very tired smile and headed over to the CSU chief, Melissa Fletcher.

"Olivia, I'm sorry, I don't have a lot yet." Melissa smiled at me, it was six A.M and she looked bright eyed and cheerful.

"What do you have?" I asked.

"Like Melinda said, this is a secondary crime scene. Our guys are searching around the alley and surrounding streets for anything significant, but right now we don't have an ID. The clothes she's in now are not hers by the looks of it. You can understand a shirt being too big, but the pants are three sizes bigger than she is, if she walked, they'd fall down."

I made a mental note of what Melissa was saying and storing it for my pre-report back at the precinct. "That's all you have?" I asked feeling disappointed.

"Sorry Liv, that's everything. Alleys are like hotel rooms, even at their cleanest, they're still filthy."

I nodded at Melissa, she was good at her job and always pulled through for me so I knew she would do her best, because in all honesty, she was the best. "Call me." I said, she nodded back.

"I will do. Liv, take this." she handed me her coffee, "You look like you need it more than me."

"Thanks." I laughed, I took the coffee very thankful for it. I looked at Ava who seemed like she was falling asleep. I handed her the paper cup; "Drink up." I smiled walking towards the car. Ava Mayfair is nothing like Elliot, she's calm, collected and very patient. I looked at Ava how I imagined I was at twenty five, passionate about the job, still able to work two shifts one right other.

"Are my eyes red?" she asked me.

"No, they're blue." I smiled as I got in the car.

"I'm so tired, seriously I feel like if I blink one more time I will end up falling asleep." Ava finished the coffee I'd given her.

"I know the feeling, I've been doing this for fourteen years today! I suggest a squad room coffee, we won't know anything until we get an ID. I'll call Melinda when we get back and see if she's got any fingerprints we can use to identify the victim."

"Sounds good to me, I might grab a power nap in the crib. Thank God Munch isn't in, last time I tried to sleep in the crib he snuck in and started making animal noises."

I laughed, "You're still a newbie. We have to put you through your paces."

"I've been here for nearly a year." Ava said as she cracked a smile.

"Yeah, but you're still the newest member of SVU, that still makes you the newbie." I raised my eyebrows at her as she laughed, I pulled away from the crime scene, I was the designated driver because Ava didn't have her license. The drive back to the one – six was quiet because Ava fell asleep, I looked over at her and smiled, a part of me felt maternal towards her. I didn't know her story, but I could tell by her eyes she held secrets she'd never told anyone. When we got back I woke Ava up, I got out of the Crown Vic and waited for the very sleepy Ava.

"Can I go back to sleep yet?" she asked resting her head on my shoulder as we walked.

"We're almost there." I said, "Take a deep breath, you can smell the coffee!" I walked Ava up the stairs, we entered the one – six, Ava went straight to the crib and I made my way to my desk. Cragen was making coffee, he brought some over to me and pulled up a chair.

"How's she doing?" he asked.

"She's doing good. She's got the knowledge and intelligence to do the job, but no one told her when she signed up that sleep deprivation came with the job."

Cragen smiled at me, it was rare to see him smile, specially lately, we'd lost Elliot and gained three new detectives. "How was the scene?"

"Other than a body, there was nothing there." I sighed softly, "The vic was young, Warner thinks she's been drained of all her blood, could be ritualistic, other than that, we have nothing."

"You need help?"

I looked at Cragen, he was being unusually helpful. "Sir, as thankful as I am, is everything okay?"

I saw his face screw up slightly, "Susan is sick, she was diagnosed with cancer a few days ago, she's not doing very well." I watched as sadness filled his body, he hung his head lower. Cragen had been married to Susan for just over year now. She was the light of his life after Marge, honestly, I'd never seen a couple so in love. They really are perfect together, my heart went out to Cragen.

"Is it terminal?" I asked softly. He nodded yes, I put my hand on his arm for comfort. "I'm so sorry." I offered.

"There's nothing anyone can do, I should be spending time with her, but I can't face being in the same room with her. The one person I love and I'm watching her die slowly, and painfully. It's the hardest thing I've had to do, I'm just waiting." he paused, "I'll get on a computer and work with you on this one. Tell me everything you know."

I logged on to my computer and opened the internet, "Her blood has been drained, she's been stabbed several times, all in main arteries. Her body was moved and dumped in the alley, we were called because she wasn't wearing underwear, but until Warner confirms rape, we don't know what's going on. That's pretty much all we have."

"I'll have a look in the database and see if anything comes back as a possible match. If all we have is blood draining, we're going to be here a while."

I agreed and started looking up different blood depletion rituals, I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. There were pages and pages of varying rituals, some Satanic, others were vampire cults, but the end of three pages on Google, my mind was well and truly overloaded. I picked up the phone and called Warner. "Hi Melinda." I started but was interrupted.

"Olivia, I was just about to call you, can you come down?"

"I'll be right there." I said. I looked at Cragen, "Warner wants us to go down, you want to come?"

"Yeah. I have a few old cases that have caught my attention, but nothing that stands out. Most of these cases have been solved and the perp is in jail."

I went and woke up Ava, then we went to see Warner. Cragen looked at the body, he often looked at our victims like he knew each and every one of them. "Have you got her prints?" Cragen asked.

"I'm running them now, but nothing has come up yet. Cause of death was exsanguination, she was stabbed multiple times all in her main arteries. I hate to say this, but the wounds themselves seem to be done almost surgically, like the perp knew where which arteries would cause the most blood loss."

"So we're looking at a professional." Ava said softly.

"We're looking for someone that's had medical training at least. She's lost almost all of her blood, she's been drained from head to toe. She's been stabbed in the axillary, aortic arch, the deep femoral and the superior mesenteric. They're the wounds that caused her to lose most of her blood, then your guy attacked her randomly stabbing her torso. From what I can tell, she wasn't raped but she has been mutilated. She was a virgin, it's a miracle her hymen wasn't broken during the torture."

"Any luck I.D'ing the young one?" I asked looking over at the slab seeing a very small, short white bump on it.

"No luck yet, we're waiting for missing children's reports to come in, all we can do is hope for the best." Warner told me.

I looked at the young girl feeling my heart ache for her. She had barely lived her life and it was taken away from her. The computer behind me started beeping in the background, I turned around, "Looks like we've got a hit." I walked over to the computer and looked at it. "Julie Meddler, sixteen years old. She was in a car with her dad when it crashed. Her dad was drunk and died at the scene, she tried to take the blame for the accident, she said she wanted to make sure his name was clear in death." I took a minute to respect the young girl, then turned back around. "Her mother still lives in their family home, Ava lets go and break the news."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading this story, I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am writing it. Thanks for the reviews also, I also wanted to address a couple of things you guys have said;**

**Lizzabet – You said you didn't understand the about the bodies, I have tried to explain it a little better in this chapter, so hopefully you will understand what I mean.**

**SVULover99 - Thanks for your review, you said you wanted this to be E/O, I'd like to know how you think Olivia would handle having Elliot come back into her life at this point in the investigation, and her life. Any pointers on how I could progress her anger to love would be appreciated.**

**Bkwrmchar – Like I said to SVULover99, how do you think Alex could be brought into this story?**

**Amanda4Meloni - Damn you're on to me! Lol Ava Mayfair may well be the Blood Countess, but then again, she may not be...**

**T.D – It's nice to see you are familiar with the legend itself, and as always, thank you for reviewing.**

**Enjoy this chapter everyone, if you don't understand something or have a comment on who Olivia should be with, review and let me know or tweet me.**

* * *

This nightmare of a case just kept getting worse. I looked at the girl's body on the slab and thought about what she might have been like; was she shy or outgoing? Was she a girly girl, or a tomboy? It didn't matter now I suppose, but it still got to me. Whoever this SOB was, was getting on my last nerve. I wanted their ass on a plater ready to be served some justice.

"You okay Olivia?" Ava asked me, I didn't notice she had walked me out of the morgue.

"Yeah, kid cases. They always get to me the most, it's senseless and a waste of life. Makes me want to nail this son ova bitch even more." I told Ava as we made our way back to the one – six. I sat down at my desk and sighed heavily, it was then that I realised, I knew nothing about Ava. Well, not really. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" I asked her.

"No, none. My mom worked a lot, and my dad was, well, your guess is as good as mine when it comes to him. Why'd you ask?"

"I just realised, I don't know a lot about my partner."

Ava smiled at me, "I was born and raised in New York, I was a history major in college, but being a cop was my passion. My mom worked almost every hour God gave so I had to pretty much bring myself up, my dad was MIA my entire life." Ava spouted willingly, it was like she needed to talk, and hadn't had anyone to listen in years. "I dealt with stuff growing up no kid should have to deal with, but I survived and I'm stronger for it now." she smiled, "Oh, and my favourite movie of all time, is and always will be Casper meets Wendy."

I smiled, "Good choice."

"So why are you here anyway? Most cops get drafted out this unit after two or three years, you've been here for over a decade."

I smiled softly, I didn't want to tell Ava about my rapist father, but if you don't have trust with your partner, you might as well be working alone. "My mom was raped, I am a rapists child." I admitted.

I saw Ava's face drop, again I offered her a smile. "I'm so sorry." she mumbled, "I had no idea. Me and my big mouth."

"It's okay, I've come to terms with it; it doesn't hold me back, it fuels me."

Ava looked at me and nodded, "You can tell. I mean, female cops all think they have something to prove, and honestly, you're the first cop I've seen who does the job because they believe in what they're doing. Not just as a do gooder either. Everyone seems to have an agenda on the force, even the good ones, they need the recognition, or praise because they're not getting any anywhere else. You just come in, do your job and get on with it. I admire that about you."

"Kissing ass will get you far!" I laughed, "But thanks." I stood up and stretched my legs, I felt so tired and no matter how much or how little sleep I got, it never seemed to be enough. I needed a vacation.

"Oh ha ha! That's the last time I say anything nice about you." Ava smiled and sat back in her seat.

I moved the mouse on my computer and typed in the details of our latest case into VICAP, I wasn't expecting much, in fact, I wasn't expecting anything at all, and that's exactly what I got. Nothing! I debated telling Ava about the book I'd bought, but instead I got up and headed towards Cragen's office. I knocked on the door and entered. He was sitting with his head resting on his hands.

"Olivia." he said.

I went in and sat down, "Sir, I need to talk to you about this case."

He must have seen the concern in my eyes, "Go on." he said.

"Sir, I bought a book, it arrived yesterday. It's called the Blood Countess, everything in this book points to our perp either reading this book, or studying it."

"Have you talked to Ava about this?"

"No." I confessed, "Right now, I'm just throwing ideas back and forth. Our perp has a medical background or some sort of training, the book says the Countess did the same thing, only she drained the blood of her victims to bathe in it. More to the point, her victims were all virgins so their blood was pure."

Cragen looked at me and nodded, "Does it in anyway point you towards a suspect?"

"No, but it might help point us in the right direction."

"Have you read it all yet?"

I shook my head in the negative, "Not yet, but I've been reading a few pages before I go to sleep."

"Take an hour, go home, read as much as you can and let me know what our next move is."

I nodded at Cragen, "What am I telling Ava?"

"Tell her you have a lead, a CI pulled through for you and you need to go alone."

I stood up and left Cragen's office. I grabbed my jacket and put it on, Ava looked up at me and smiled, I explained that I had to go out and I'd be back in an hour. Then I left. I arrived back at my apartment and found the book on the couch where I'd left it. I picked it up and began reading again.

* * *

It didn't take long before I picked up the phone and called Cragen, I asked his permission to bring in Kate Macks, a long time friend and infamous criminal psychologist in on the case. He agreed after working with her on the Alexandria Wiloflax case. I dialled Kate's number, it was late, or early whatever way you looked at it. Luckily for me, Kate and her wife had year old twins, so I knew they'd both be up.

"Olivia, missing me already are you?" Kate's happy, wide awake voice said on the end of the phone.

"How did you guess?" I asked with a laugh.

"So what's up super cop?" she asked me.

"I need your help."

"Where and when?" she asked me.

"My place, as soon as possible."

"You know Elizabeth is going to start getting jealous all this time I'm spending with you." Kate laughed again, "I'm just filling some bottles, I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Kate hung up the phone, and as sure as she said she was at my apartment in twenty minutes. I opened the door and welcomed her in.

"So what do we have?" Kate asked.

"A boat load of nothing, we have a case. Our suspect is female, she kills two girls at a time, and drains them of their blood. She tortures her victims, then bathes in their blood. I bought this book a few days ago and it seems pretty similar in MO."

"It's never a simple case is it?" Kate said sitting down.

"That would be boring." I said sitting next to Kate. "We've had eight victims, and they're getting younger. Our last one was about ten years old."

"What aren't you telling me?" I shrugged but Kate saw through me. "Spill it."

"My new partner, it sounds so stupid but I realised today I know nothing about her. She fits our profile, I asked her today about herself; she told she majored in history and criminology, she's an only child who has no ties to her dad, her mom worked all the time, she was starved of attention as a child. I'm probably over thinking this, but she's the first person that fits."

Kate had been reading the report I had given her. "Liv, your profile is weak at best. You just described half the people in New York. What else do you know about the perp?"

"She's had some sort of medical training," I paused, "She's very aware of forensics and leaves nothing at a crime scene, no prints, no fibres, no DNA. She's smart."

"How do you know it's a she?" Kate asked softly.

"At the first crime scene she wrote on the wall, here's the picture." I opened a file and found the photo giving it to her, "The Blood Countess will live on."

Kate looked a little stumped, "So she wants attention, by the looks of the crime scenes, she doesn't want to be caught, but she wants to be known." Kate looked deep in thought, "This could become very personal Olivia, considering two female cops are working the case, she could be building up to get to you or Ava."

I'd never thought or considered this possibility, "What do you mean?"

"The report says the first two victims were prostitutes, and the last was a little girl and a woman off the street. She's smart enough to gain her victim's trust, she most likely tells them that she has lost someone, a child or she's hurt until she gets them where she needs them." Kate looked at me as I hung on her every word, "Olivia, this woman could potentially come to you as a victim seeking your help."

I felt my stomach drop two floors as her words hit home, now every victim was going to be put under the microscope. "What about her motives though? She attacks virgin women and children, I don't think I need to tell you I'm not a virgin."

Kate smiled, "Save the bedroom talk for a glass of wine and take out." she laughed and I felt myself relax slightly, Kate always made jokes and eased the tension. "I could be wrong, but this looks like she's cleansing. She's trying to wash away the bad in her life by purifying herself. It's often thought blood drinkers, who aren't modern day vampires drink pure blood to wash away the bad in themselves. If they commit a crime, they drink pure blood to cleanse themselves."

"But she's not just drinking it, she's bathing in it." I said.

"She must have done something really bad to need that much purifying." Kate carried on reading the files as I called in to Cragen to update him.

"Do you think a cop could could have done this?" I asked Kate once I was off the phone.

"There's a chance, the initial profile fits. Whoever it is, is aware of forensics, they know who they can target. This woman has everything figured out prior to her attacks, where she keeps the bodies, what she does to them, her bathing ritual and most importantly where she dumps the second girl."

"The second victim is always the most tortured."

"The girl outside?" Kate asked me, I nodded. "She wants you to take notice of these girls. The girls that are dumped are more important to the Countess than the ones you find in apartments. You found Emma in a basement in Queens, Joanne the dump victim was found two blocks away in the mouth of an alley where any passerby can see her. She wants you to know that the Joannes' are more important to her than the Emmas' of this case."

I nodded as I kept up with Kate's thought process, "We've been looking at this like she wanted to keep the Emmas' to herself, hidden and private, when in reality they are her need to purify. The Joannes' are the girls we need to look at in more detail." I smiled and stood up, "Thanks Kate." I picked up my keys and looked back at Kate who was still sitting on the couch, "Are you coming?"

"Only if you're buying." Kate said standing up, "I feel like scrambled eggs on toast."

* * *

Back at the one – six, I realised I still hadn't been to the Meddler's house to break the terrible news that Julie had been murdered. I found Ava at her desk writing up yet another report on the Blood Countess, "Ava, can you do me a favour?"

Ava looked up at me, then her eyes went straight to Kate, "Sure..."

"I need you to go to the Meddler house, I need to brief Kate and get her up to speed."

Ava got up and left with Amanda, then Kate and I went to the morgue to talk to Melinda. As we got closer to the morgue, the cold chill that always crept up my spine caught me. I shook it off and opened the door.

"Olivia, I have something for you." Melinda said handing me over an NYPD folder.

I looked inside and saw a photo of our young girl. "Jenny Ruddock, ten." I said sadly.

"She was reported missing yesterday, her mom walked the dog at two in the morning. Jenny went with her. The dog gave chase to a squirrel, the mom chased after the dog. Jenny ended up here."

I put the folder down on the table, "Has anyone spoken to Mrs Ruddock yet?"

"No, this only just came in. I read the report, I was just about to call you when you came in."

"Thanks." I said softly, I picked up the folder again and walked out of the morgue. I hated these cases and more than anything I wanted it to be solved, but right now I was working on a boat load of nothing. It didn't matter about the book, because the book didn't tell who the next victims were, or where I was going to find them. I looked at Kate who at this time looked like she was reading my mind, she said nothing but placed a hand on my back and rubbed it gently. "I'm doubting myself Kate." I confessed.

"About what?" she asked stopping on the stairs.

"I don't think we're going to catch this woman, it's different with rape. You have fluids, or a witness or something! We've got nothing and had nothing for eight weeks running, the whole city is running scared and my ass is on the line here."

Kate sighed, "Olivia, you're the best cop for the job! Sometimes you get too emotionally involved, but that's how you devote yourself to something, you give it everything you've got and you get your perp."

I forced a smile, "How do I find this woman when I've got nothing to go on?"

"Where do you start when you don't have anything?"

Kate forced me push through my tiredness, "I start at the body, and if it can't tell me anything, I go back to the scene."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Kate said with a small smile.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you all for reviewing, I really appreciate you all taking the time to review, I always look forward to what you have to say. I want to say thank you to Taylor who always reviews every chapter of every story, in regards to the relationship status of Olivia, I wouldn't want her to have a one night stand as I don't like the idea of her emotionally detaching herself from the most intimate act, (in my eyes) two people can share. And I'm glad you like Kate and Olivia as a badass duo, I wrote Kate almost as if she were Olivia's best friend. **

**For those who don't know, Kate Macks is my own character who I have used in another fanfiction, Writer's Block. You can read that to learn about her character more. **

* * *

Kate and I took the Crown Vic back to the alley where the first dump girl was found. It was pretty dark, and like every back alley in New York, filled with trash. "There was nothing at the scene when we got here apart from the body; the Countess is very clean and aware." I told Kate.

Kate looked around and then took out her phone, she plugged in a few details. "I have something that might interest you," she showed me her phone, "All the red dots show where the dumped girls were dumped, the blue dots show the apartments where the other girls were found."

I found my mouth dropping slightly, "That's an O and an A."

"Olivia, I hate to say it but I told you, you and Ava could be the focus of this case. If the Countess has seen you and Ava together and think you're strong women, heroes even, you are the focus. It's time to tell Ava everything."

I nodded, "I'll get a map of the city and draw up all the points." I said getting back into the car. I drove back to the one – six with Kate next to me. She was silent the whole journey meaning she was deep in thought.

As we arrived at the one – six, Kate didn't move. "What's wrong?" I asked concerned.

"You asked me if a cop could be responsible for this right? I don't want you to tell Ava anything for now, leave the map. Share the information with Cragen, but only him."

"You're scaring me, are you telling me Ava could be the Countess?"

"I can't tell you anything for sure right now, that's why I'm asking you not to say anything. I could be wrong about a theory I have, but if I'm not, your life could be in danger."

"Just mine?" I asked turning my body in my seat to face Kate.

"Just you." Kate must have seen the fear in my eyes because she looked at me and reached out her hand. "Keep Cragen close, keep Ava closer."

"What's your theory?"

"The Countess wants you to notice her, you've been in the news more, you've had more headlines. Chances are she wants you to notice her, admire her work. These girls might be a gift to you, she might even have a crush on you but feels her past is holding her back from being with her hero. Olivia, if I'm right, Ava could be her victim very soon, but you... You'll suffer, become her toy. She won't let you go, she'll want to please you, but control you at the same time. You have to be on your guard, all the time. How long is her cooling off period?"

"It's narrowed to a week."

"Then you have six days to find this woman, and stop her." Kate said calmly.

Then I saw a look that I recognised, and I knew it wasn't one Kate used often. She was worried. "Kate, if she's likely to come after you to get to me, don't work the case. I don't want anything to happen to you or Elizabeth."

Kate took in a deep breath, "If you're her ultimate target, I'm already involved. She'll know everything about me now."

I hated seeing Kate so defeated before anything had even happened. I knew Kate, I knew every expression on her face, but she wasn't a quitter. "Kate, I won't let her get to you or Lizzie. You trust me right?"

Kate smirked at me changing her whole expression, "Of course I do. I wouldn't have picked up the phone if I didn't. Anyway, after that last case we worked, this should be a piece of cake." Kate smiled at me and I knew she was hiding her fear, but I never questioned Kate.

Kate had worked on the Writer's Block case with me and cracked it wide open. She had a habit of breaking tough cases; and honestly, without her I'd be lost. I smiled back at her, but something inside me, deep in my stomach twisted. I hated that I had put one of my best friends and her family in danger. Kate and I walked up the stairs to the squad room, we headed to Cragen's office and told him everything we knew and everything we suspected.

* * *

"So who is Kate?" Ava asked Nick.

"Kate is one of Olivia's best friends, they go way back. She's a smart woman, she helped us on a case last year, without her we'd still be working it." Nick said looking at Ava. "She's a shrink of sorts, but a damn good one. She gets inside our perps head and dissects their thought process before they know their next move."

"You clearly like her." Ava smiled.

"Like, liked. I always like women I can't have." he smirked sitting on the edge of Ava's desk.

"She married?"

"Kate's married with two kids." he informed her.

"So, if you wanted her that bad, I'm sure you could have taken her away, just use some of that charm." Ava said looking at him.

Nick laughed, "That charm only works on women who are into men. Kate's wife's name is Elizabeth, they have twins together."

Ava blushed, "I had no idea. You really like her huh?"

"Liked, you learn to turn off the lust when you realise your sister stands more of a chance than you do."

"I see, well, there are plenty more fish in the sea Nick. Like my mother always said, there are seven point one billion people in this world, one of them was born with a heart just for you. Destiny will bring you together one day."

"You can't fall in love if you're looking."

"That's right!" Ava said with a smile. "What do you think they're talking about in there?"

"Don't know kiddo." Nick said sitting back at his own desk.

"I'm her partner, if she has any new leads I should know about them." Ava complained.

"We have no leads Ava," I said over hearing her, "Kate was getting reacquainted with the Captain, that's all."

I watched Ava nod, she seemed off, like she had been side lined. I pulled her to one side and smiled softly, "Are you okay?"

She nodded at me. "I'm fine." she lied.

I raised an eyebrow unconvinced, "Ava, I don't want you to think you're not good enough on this case. Kate is a big help and we need her. You're my partner and I need you too okay."

Ava smiled at me, "Don't worry partner, just keep me in the loop."

"I will." I assured her.

* * *

Kate, Ava and I worked the case as best we could on what little we had. Ava sighed and got up, "It's late, I'm going home." she mumbled.

"Do you want to go out for a drink?" I asked Kate and Ava.

"No, I'm too tired." Ava said, "I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded, "See you in the morning.

Kate and I went out for a drink, we went to the local cop bar. It was rather quiet, after two beers, Kate had calmed down. It was nice to see the light back in her eyes after the long day we'd had.

"So, how is Elliot?" Kate asked me.

Last year I'd been with Elliot, everything was perfect but he had to work away. Some undercover thing, and I have only seem him for a couple of hours since then. "He's working undercover, I haven't seen him in six months. I've had the odd phone call, but no real contact." I complained.

"Oh Liv, I'm so sorry." she said reaching over her hand.

I forced a smile, "Honestly, it's okay. We were under each others feet all the time, with living together and working together. Time apart will do us good."

"You don't sound convinced." Kate said.

I shrugged, "The truth is, I'm not." I sighed, "I miss him, but the excitement's gone. I don't get butterflies anymore. I really want us to be everything we were, everything I wanted us to be, but we're not." I sighed again feeling at loss finally admitting how I felt. "I just hope when Elliot comes back, I'll feel everything I did, but right now I just.. don't."

Kate looked at me with soft eyes, "Baby girl you have to fight for what you want, if the spark is gone, you either move on for the sake of yourself, or you wait in agony to see if those feelings come back. You have to think about what you want; Liv I've known you for years, you always put everyone else first. Put yourself first for a change."

I realised Kate was right. "Thanks Kate." I smiled, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and dug around pulling it out. "Cragen." I said to Kate before answering. I listened to everything he was saying, I felt sick, confused and baffled. He hung up the phone, I sat in shock, it was only when Kate touched my hand that I snapped out of it.

"Liv, what's wrong?" she asked.

I stared at Kate feeling my heart sink, "It's Ava, she's been attacked by the Countess."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you for all being patient with me, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I have to say a big thank you to Kate who helped me do a walk through on my chapters and helped me develop this story and helped give my direction. Without her this story wouldn't be half of what it is going to be. If you have time please review. Thank you everyone :)**

* * *

Kate drove down to Mercy General hospital, my legs were numb at the thought of Ava laying sliced and diced in a hospital bed. I heard Kate's voice whirring in my ears, but I couldn't make out her words. She was always comforting and I didn't doubt that was what she was trying to do now, but my head couldn't take it. I couldn't take it.

"Olivia, we're here." Kate said reaching her hand over and touching my arm.

I blinked myself out of my fear induced nightmare and nodded, I got out of the car and forced myself into the hospital. Kate asked for Ava's room number and walked with me, I could feel her eyes on me every couple of minutes making sure I was ok, but I wasn't. I opened the door to Ava's room and forced a smile.

"Ava..."

I watched as Ava flicked open her eyes, "Olivia?" she mumbled.

"Hey, I'm here. What happened sweetheart?" I took Ava's out stretched hand and sat next to her.

"I don't remember a lot, I was on my way home from work and then a woman started talking to me. I felt sharp pain, I remember feeling my blood soak into my clothes. Then I woke up here."

I looked at Ava and moved the hair from her face, "It's okay Ava, what have the doctors said?"

"She said I should be good to leave in the morning."

I frowned, "That's premature isn't it?" I asked, I looked at Kate who told me she would speak to the doctor.

"The Countess didn't want me Olivia, I can't recall what she said to me, but she wants me alive, to play with me."

I shook my head, "I'm so sorry, I should have given you a ride home and made sure you got there safely. This is all my fault." I felt a lump rise in my throat, and a sickness in my stomach.

"It's not Olivia, I let my guard down. I didn't think this would ever happen to me; don't feel bad about it, it's that sicko's fault."

I didn't feel any better by what Ava had said, Kate was giving me a look and I knew she wanted to talk to me. "Ava I'll be back tomorrow, try and sleep, there's an officer outside your door."

I kissed Ava on the forehead and left the hospital room. I looked at Kate and felt a frown forming, she didn't look happy. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think you're going to like what I have to say."

"Go on." I said walking slowly out of the hospital back to the car.

"I think Ava did this to herself. Let me finish before you say anything, when has the Countess ever left a victim alive? The doctor said Ava's wounds were caused by a single knife, she had no bruising, no restraint marks. The stab wounds weren't even close to main arteries. This isn't the Countess' work."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Ava didn't do this to herself Kate!" I snapped. "That's sick, why would she? It doesn't make sense."

"This whole case doesn't make sense," Kate snapped back, "everything points to Ava. Why would the Countess let her live? She's a cop and she's working the case; use your head Olivia, not your heart. The Countess wouldn't let her live, she's too precise; a living victim means someone could ID her. She wouldn't and hasn't taken that risk to date. Why would she start now?"

Everything Kate was saying made sense, all the pieces of this puzzle fit together and all pointed to one person. Ava. But I refused to believe it was her, my partner wasn't a killer, but my best friend thinks she is. I was so torn but I had to listen to Kate, it was why she was here, this is why I asked Kate to join this case. "You really think it's her don't you?"

"I do Liv. The attack was way off, Ava did this to herself. You need to look at the bigger picture, Ava could be the Countess."

I felt sick instantly, I had to face facts. Ava could be the Blood Countess.

* * *

I couldn't believe how well everything had gone. It was better than I thought it would've been. Olivia had turned up at the hospital. She'd brought Kate with her, which was unfortunate, but she was here which was all that mattered to me. She had showered me with so much attention, more than I could've imagined this attack would bring. I've been dying to catch her attention for so long, ever since the first day we'd met. At first, I'd tried to break cases and win her admiration and affections that way, but that hadn't been enough. If I'd have known that she'd be this way with me today, I would've attacked myself a long time ago. That feeling of her hand in mine, the look in her eyes. She was concerned for me, she cared. She melted my heart today and as if it were possible, I've fallen even deeper in love with her. If Kate hadn't been here, I know Olivia would've stayed with me all night. I need to spend some time with her, alone. I need to make her forget all about Elliot, and see me for who I am and how I feel about her. I need her. I need to get out of this hospital and show Olivia how strong I can be. She can never know I did this. If she ever found out, my dream of me becoming Mrs Ava Benson would be long gone.

* * *

I woke up after a horrible nights sleep. I kept waking up thinking about Ava and Kate. I was well and truly torn between my best friend and my partner. I was so tired, I checked my phone and saw a text from Kate. I thought back to the disagreement we had at the hospital; she'd driven me home last night, then gone home. I hated fighting with Kate and in the entirety of our friendship, we'd only fallen out a handful of times, and even then it wasn't anything memorable.

I read the text and replied with a simple 'Ok'. It was ten minutes later Kate knocked at my door with two coffees.

"You look like crap." Kate said.

"Thanks!" I laughed, "You don't look too great yourself. Elizabeth keep you up all night?" I winked walking over to the couch.

"Ha, I wish! I spent most of the night thinking about Ava. I read the book you bought." Kate sat down on the couch with me. "I've written down a few things that might be able to help us work this case. I know you don't want to think of Ava as the Countess, so I thought I should try and look at a bigger picture."

I watched Kate pause, "You didn't get very far did you?" I half asked.

She shook her head, "No, I'm sorry Olivia, I tried to make this profile fit someone else, anyone else, but every time I wrote down a possible lead, it lead back to Ava."

"I was thinking about Ava a lot last night too, and I think you might be right, at least about her attacking herself." I sighed, "So where did you get to last night?"

"In the book, the Countess has killed a lot of people. In the hundreds, and none of them survived. In the case of Ava, her injuries were not consistent with your victims, but they were close. She is the only person who had intimate knowledge of the crime scenes and victims. Olivia, I think you need to be careful, Ava needs help."

My natural instinct was to protect my partner, but I knew Kate was right. I had a gut feeling that Ava had an alterer motive, I just didn't know what it was. "Ok, well aside from Ava and her attack, what else have you got?"

Kate and I talked for about three hours, we worked through the case, top to bottom. We left no stone unturned, every victim was looked at in detail, but at the end of those very long three hours we still had absolutely nothing at all. Kate threw herself back on the couch and let out a very loud sigh.

"Olivia we're getting nowhere!" she said.

"I know." I also knew that we were going to have to wait for the Countess to slip up and make a mistake before we stood a chance of catching her.

"I'm starving." Kate moaned. "I want Carbonara."

"Don't tease, Elizabeth makes the best Carbonara, you should call her and ask her to make it tonight. Y'know, invite me over." I laughed nudging Kate playfully.

Kate got that look in her eye, an idea forming; "Why don't you come over this weekend? I'll ask Elizabeth to cook, we'll put the twins to bed and have a catch up."

I didn't have to think twice, "Sounds good to me!"

"What?" Kate asked.

"What?" I repeated confused.

"You look like you want to ask me something, but can't. Do you want to bring Alex again? Because it's no problem."

I found myself smiling, I had invited Alex along the last time Kate and Lizzie had me over for dinner. We all got on well and had a great evening. "It crossed my mind."

"Ask her. Anyway, what's the deal with you and Alex? I thought you were with Elliot..."

I nodded trying to find the words to explain what was going on with me and Alex. "I don't know, since Elliot went undercover on this case, Alex has been my shoulder to cry on. She's picked me up when I needed it. Like Elliot does. I guess I'm just enjoying her company right now."

Kate smirked at me, "Enjoying as in you're thinking about her in a new light?"

I pushed Kate as she raised her eyebrows up and down at me, "I don't know, I want to say no because I love Elliot, but she's filling a gap in my heart. And I can't deny there is a spark between us."

"So you're switching teams!" Kate laughed.

I laughed with Kate but something inside me started ticking over. A something called Alex. "I don't know about that, but she keeps crossing my mind." Kate and I sat chatting like the good friends we were, our laughter was only broken by a phone call from Cragen. I looked at Kate, "I think Cragen's just killed your theory. We've got another surviving victim."


End file.
